It’s March! Again. Or, still? It’s hard to believe that’s been almost a full year since many of us began working from our homes and learning how to juggle Zoom meetings with homeschooling. We’ve collectively been through a lot, and we still have a ways to go, but with the announcement of vaccine availability by the end of May for all adults, we’re finally ready to cut loose a bit (albeit still in a socially distanced way).
So, let’s all make a trip to our favorite bar, brewery, restaurant, or alcohol purveyor, and raise a glass to hopefully putting this endless March behind us soon. Cheers!
Here’s this week’s guide to the latest beer releases, rundowns of what’s on tap, upcoming brewery events, and a roundup of Maine beer news.
Beer This Week is Sponsored by: Tigpro Stainless Fabrication
Tigpro specializes in the design, fabrication, and installation of high-quality, custom-built brewing systems, tanks, process piping, and supporting equipment to the brewing industry. With more than a decade of experience, the Tigpro team can design a brewing system to meet your brewery’s unique needs.
Upcoming Releases & Events
Foundation Brewing is leading an IPA parade this week with the debut of Unicycle Parade, and Definitive Brewing and Moderation Brewing are each debuting Double IPAs. We’ve also got Lagers from Threshers Brewing and Moderation Brewing to hip you to, a Sour Ale from York Beach Beer Company with a very punny name, and a Brown Ale from Lone Pine with a touch of maple syrup.
Friday, March 5
Definitive Brewing Company
35 Industrial Way, Portland and 318 US Route 1, Kittery
Distant Gardens, Double IPA (8%)
Hopped exclusively with Southern Hemisphere hop varieties Kohatu, Motu, and Topaz, Distant Gardens tastes and smells like purple globe grapes, orange juice with extra pulp, and melted melon sorbet. Available Friday in Portland and Saturday in Kittery.
Foundation Brewing Company
1 Industrial Way #5, Portland
Unicycle Parade, New England IPA (6.5%)
Rolling into town this Friday, it’s Unicycle Parade! Foundation Brewing’s latest IPA was hopped with Simcoe and Sabro and will take your taste buds on a fun and festive ride.
Moderation Brewing Company
103 Maine St., Brunswick
Kiki, Double IPA (8%) & Wicked Crispy, Lager (4.3%)
Moderation Brewing is kicking off their 3rd anniversary with the release of Kiki, a hazy Double IPA with pineapple, hopped with Citra and El Dorado. It has huge tropical fruit and citrus notes and is dangerously crushable. Wicked Crispy is a 100% Maine-ingredient Lager, fermented with Moderation’s house Norwegian Kveik yeast. Super drinkable!
Saturday, March 6
Lone Pine Brewing
219 Anderson St., Portland & 48 Sanford Dr., Gorham
Maple Sunday, Brown Ale (5.1%)
Maple Sunday is a Brown Ale brewed with local maple syrup. The annual release of this Lone Pine classic represents a Maine tradition that has brought the brewers closer to their families, friends, and farms over the years. This year Lone Pine will be giving back to the farms and sugar shacks that play such a big role in making the state of Maine so great by donating a portion of March’s Maple Sunday sales to Maine Farmland Trust.
York Beach Beer Company
33 Railroad Ave, York
Intensive Purposes, Sour Ale (4.2%)
York Beach Beer Company is celebrating its second birthday with a party on the patio. There will be a food truck from noon to 5 p.m. and live music from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. York Beach Beer Company will also be releasing Intensive Purposes, one of their original beers, with a re-worked recipe that adds lactose to the boil to create a killer key lime pie flavor.
Release Date TBD
SoMe Brewing Company
1 York St., #3, York
The folks at SoMe Brewing will be canning fresh Whoopie Pie Stout, Peanut Butter Whoopie Pie, and Peanut Butter Jelly Pie later this week.
Threshers Brewing Co.
22 Main St., Building 3, Searsmont
American Lager
This premium American Lager is light-bodied with a crisp and clean flavor. Inspired by the Thunder Valley Mower Racing Team in Midcoast Maine, this delicious suped-up American Ale has the perfect blend of hops and malts to create a subtle and complex flavor profile. This beer is easy-drinking and very smooth all the way to the finish line!
_____________________________________________________
New Releases
As much as we love Maine beer, we also love the creativity that goes into constantly coming up with new, catchy names. And we’ve got some really fun ones coming at you this week including Assume Positive Intent (something we could all use more of these days), A Beer Has No Name (Arya 4-ever), Red Phoenix (how we sometimes feel the next day after recovering from a particularly…active night of drinking), and the wistful Vagabond Dreamer.
_____________________________________________________
Battery Steele Brewing
1 Industrial Way, Units 12 & 14, Portland
Vagabond Dreamer, IPA (7.2%)
Formally known as Onsight #7, Vagabond Dreamer starts with a simple grain bill of American 2-row barley, oats, wheat, and combined with generous amounts of Citra and Vic Secret. The blend of yeasts creates a pillowy soft, saturated mouthfeel that carries notes of melon, stone fruit, berries and gives way to a resinous, deep citrus finish.
Bissell Brothers Brewing
38 Resurgam Place, Portland
Assume Positive Intent, Pale Ale (6%)
This DDH Pale Ale is hopped with Southern Passion, Callista, and Sabro. Notes of limeade and piña colada make Assume Positive Intent the perfect beer to pick up for this lovely season we’re currently enjoying here in Maine: fake spring. Find a sunny spot, close your eyes, take a sip, and like magic — it’s summer!
Blaze Brewing Co.
28 Pearl St., Biddeford
Shoreside, Wheat Ale (5.5%) & Kolsch (5.2%)
Shoreside is a slightly tart Wheat Ale conditioned on a large amount of strawberry, raspberry, and cranberry puree. The beer pours a deep red and tastes like pie filling, red Sour Patch Kids, and liquid summer. Kolsch is a, you guessed it, Kolsch-style ale. Crisp, drinkable, and classic.
Kennebec River Brewing
1771 US-201, West Forks
Class V Stout, Stout (5.5%)
Class V Stout is a cold-brewed hazelnut coffee, Irish Stout. It’s only available onsite at Northern Outdoors/Kennebec River Brewery and in growlers to go!
Liquid Riot Bottling Company
250 Commercial St., Portland
A Beer Has No Name, Double IPA (8.2%)
A Beer Has No Name is a Double IPA with a British base malt and piney, citrusy hops. It dislikes needlepoint but loves Needle.
Mast Landing Brewing Company
920 Main St., Westbrook
All the Way Up, Sour Ale (4.8%) & Louder Now, IPA (7%)
Blackberries and limes create a luscious and enticing flavor profile for All the Way Up. This Sour Ale is ultra-refreshing while retaining fruit-forward qualities. Louder Now turns up the tropical and citrus notes, with a modest ABV and a bold drinkability. There are big notes of orange, guava, and mango from this one.
Odd Alewives Farm Brewery
99 Old Route One, Waldoboro
Odd Guest, Amber Ale (6%)
Odd Guest is a small batch Amber Ale using a new Caramel malt from Blue Ox Malthouse fermented with Belgian and Brett yeast, and dry-hopped with Simcoe and Ekuanot hops. The result is a refreshing beer with a balance of spicy and floral hops with notes of tropical fruit, pine, and citrus.
Rising Tide Brewing Company
103 Fox St., Portland
Strata, IPA (6.3%)
Brewed in collaboration with The Hop Yard to feature the characteristics of this new hop variety, Strata. Find it at retailers throughout Maine this week. Hitting MA and NH soon too. Heads up, the tasting room is closed until Saturday for winter break.
Sebago Brewing Co.
616 Main St., Gorham
Back in the Day, Double IPA (7.7%)
Originally brewed in collaboration with their illustrious packaging crew to help celebrate 20 years of all things Sebago Brewing, Pack in the Day is now Back in the Day. Packed with distinctive hop varieties from start to finish, this haze-forward New England IPA does not disappoint. Juicy and refreshing, Back in the Day ends a workday and gets the party started.
Side by Each Brewing Co.
1110 Minot Ave., Auburn
Dunk Tank Munich Dunkel Lager (4.5%) & Bikini Bottom, Guava IPA (5.5%)
Hints of bread crust and toast highlight the malt-centered flavor of Dunk Tank, a traditional dark Lager. The tropical, fruity notes of Citra and Vic Secret hops take center stage in Bikini Bottom, backed up by the earthy sweetness of pink guava.
XOTA Brewing Company
721 Main Street Waterboro
Red Phoenix, Red IPA (5.5%)
And from the ashes rises the Phoenix! Red Phoenix is back from the fiery depths in cans. It has a nice subtle sweetness for an IPA and is a beautiful crystal red. The Amarillo hop is the only hops and really shines through with a nice orange finish.
On Draft
Help support local breweries while sampling these flagship beers and rising stars. Here’s a taste of what you’ll be able to enjoy at select breweries this week.
Baxter Brewing Co.
120 Mill St., Lewiston
- Oktoberfest Lager (5.2%)
- BA Innuendo, Stout (10.5%)
- Old Salty Dog, Lager (5.1%)
- O’McBaxter’s Irish Stout (4.9%)
- Hal-Apeno, IPA (6.5%)
- Muddy Boots Brown Ale (7%)
Nonesuch River Brewing
201 Gorham Road, Scarborough
- Blonde, Golden Ale (4.8%)
- Double IPA (8.1%)
- IPA 2.0 (5.3%)
- Dark Storm Imperial Stout (7%)
- Red, Irish Style Ale (4.4%)
- Sap Hound Maple Cream Ale (5.2%)
Sebago Brewing Co.
616 Main St., Gorham
- Frye’s Leap, IPA (6%)
- Simmer Down, Session Ale (4.9%)
- Runabout Red, Amber Ale (4.4%)
- Monde De Peche, Farmhouse Ale (5.7%)
- Juices Flowing, New England IPA (6.1%)
- No Comply, West Coast IPA (7.2%)
Maine Beer in the News
So many joke possibilities here, we’re not even sure which direction to go. Instead, we’ll just let this story about a new cannabis version of our beloved Shipyard Pumpkinhead speak for itself.
Cannabis version of Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead ale to launch in Maine
The upcoming product launch stems from a partnership between Novel Beverage of Scarborough and Portland’s Shipyard Brewing Co.
We hope you enjoyed this edition of Maine Beer This Week! If you own a brewery or other beer business and would like to be featured in upcoming issues, please email us to learn more.
Know someone who loves beer? Do your friend a solid and share this newsletter with them!
Want more beer? Follow us on the socials to stay in-the-know on all the latest beer-y goodness.
